Nominee Clauses and the law?

[TMNT]

good friend of mine has asked me to sign a contract for a house with a nominee clause, as he has done all the negotiations but is overseas for another 7 days, and is worried the property will be sold to someone else,

how do people, or buyers agents, get around this problem of potentially signing a legally bidning contract without getting into problems,

is it a simple case of using nominee?

property is in qld, ive used a nominee clause in NSW and it was pretty stragiht fwd, but qld seems to be different.

for the record, my friends credibility is not the issue here

 

[Terry_w]

good friend of mine has asked me to sign a contract for a house with a nominee clause, as he has done all the negotiations but is overseas for another 7 days, and is worried the property will be sold to someone else,

how do people, or buyers agents, get around this problem of potentially signing a legally bidning contract without getting into problems,

is it a simple case of using nominee?

property is in qld, ive used a nominee clause in NSW and it was pretty stragiht fwd, but qld seems to be different.

for the record, my friends credibility is not the issue here

Don't sign it.

Seek legal advice. If you sign it you could be up for stamp duty plus you are entering a contract so would be exposed to all the obligations of that contract without recourse to your mate. What if he changes his mind? What if he can't settle. Not to mention potentially double stamp duty issues.

 

[TMNT]

thanks terry, I undestand that,

but how do buyers agents and the rest do it, surely there is a solid and commonly used way

 

[Aaron_C]

thanks terry, I undestand that,

but how do buyers agents and the rest do it, surely there is a solid and commonly used way

You get a power of attorney for that specific transaction so on all documentation he is responsible for it, not you.

 

[Propertunity]

....but how do buyers agents and the rest do it, surely there is a solid and commonly used way

We use a Power of Attorney (POA) and an Authority to Bid and usually have a blank signed cheque made out to the REA's Trust Account in our pocket.

In NSW the POA is found online here:
The fact sheet can be found at: http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/25947/PoA_Fact_Sheet.pdf and it is worthwhile reading.

A live version, can be found at: http://www.lpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/189013/GPA_form.pdf

Not sure about Qld but the use of an "and or nominee" clause in NSW triggers double stamp duty.

 

[RPI]

Won't trigger double stamp duty if you have that in the contract, but will if you actually use it. Power of attorney is the way to go.